What is the effectiveness of the measures taken by Weber?

[bbq4ever]

Fellow barbeque enthousiast,

Unfortunately I’m still waiting for my SmokeFire EX6, expected start of delivery in The Netherlands is in 2-3 weeks and I do not hope that corona (covid 19) is extending the waiting time. But what I am curious about is how are the updates working. In the beginning there was a lot of commotion on all kind of topics and products were returned to Weber in “huge numbers”, well this is how it looked like on the internet, fora, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram etc etc etc…...

So I'm now curious on the effectiveness of the measures taken by Weber:

• Complimentary ramp accessory -> does this solve the feeding issues of the pellets. E.g. pellets bridging.
• The Grease fires -> use drip tray and is it then solved (yes I know was not advertised like this)
• Replacement of SmokeFire auger from D, E to F -> are issues solved?

Any updates? and a lot of smileys

 

[MENCHY954]

1. The ramp for the hopper definitely worked
2. The grease fires were caused by people opening the lid and creating excessive heat in the process while they were filing videos of the cook. I have had the same worries and never experienced this issue once as I leave the lid alone or at least I am not keeping it open for a long period of time while the grill is in operation. I just cooked 3 slabs of ribs this weekend without a drip pan and had no issues.
3. I understand if you were to cook something fatty like pork and didn't use a drip pan you would likely have some sort of grease fire. I did a pork butt last week and used a drip pan and had no fire,
4. I haven't had to replace the auger
5. I have an issue to be resolved soon regarding the Android app for the smoker - there is a fix coming this week I am told. That should be the only thing I have to contend with right now
6. The ribs were amazing I used applewood pellets from Lumberjack and a salt/pepper/garlic rub for a 4.5-hour cook and they were fall off the bone. I wrapped them in the butcher paper for the last 90 minutes.

 

[bbq4ever]

1. The ramp for the hopper definitely worked
2. The grease fires were caused by people opening the lid and creating excessive heat in the process while they were filing videos of the cook. I have had the same worries and never experienced this issue once as I leave the lid alone or at least I am not keeping it open for a long period of time while the grill is in operation. I just cooked 3 slabs of ribs this weekend without a drip pan and had no issues.
3. I understand if you were to cook something fatty like pork and didn't use a drip pan you would likely have some sort of grease fire. I did a pork butt last week and used a drip pan and had no fire,
4. I haven't had to replace the auger
5. I have an issue to be resolved soon regarding the Android app for the smoker - there is a fix coming this week I am told. That should be the only thing I have to contend with right now
6. The ribs were amazing I used applewood pellets from Lumberjack and a salt/pepper/garlic rub for a 4.5-hour cook and they were fall off the bone. I wrapped them in the butcher paper for the last 90 minutes.

Looks amazing.

 

[GriLLMaRksRseXy]

I would say they are working through the issues very well. I had a major issue and was able to speak with them about it and they replaced my grill completely. They were truly about customer service and I have had some followup communication with one of their top level people. I have not received my new grill yet so I have not been able to test it. I did receive the hopper insert and I can see where it will definitely work. I used a special slick tape on my old one and removed the finger guard and had not a single issue with the hopper though... There is definitely issues with the App though. Cannot be denied. Hopefully the updates will be ongoing and as fast as possible.

 

[CEd4jets]

BTW - the figure guard is a good tool for removing pellets that spill along the sides of the hopper when filling.

 

[Smysmy2]

I replaced my auger, motor, and chute last Thursday and everything was fantastic, my temperatures held really well and it was fast and easy to get it really hot to 600, ... until last night. I cooked chicken wings at 325 for about a half hour and then went to increase the temp to 600 to sear them and get them crispy. But, the temperature only went to 400 and then started dropping. I went through the shutdown process and started it up again after inspecting the firepot. It was empty after the shutdown and the startup went well. But, after 55 minutes it had only reached 500 degrees. It had gone to 400 after 15 minutes but then dropped to 300. It kept going up and down but never reached higher than 440 after a half hour. The highest it got after 55 minutes was 550. I called Weber (it took 35 minutes to connect). They told me they would get back to me and possible send me a new controller. They also told me that the new software should fix this and it would be out in about two weeks. That is longer than I expected. I am very disappointed.

 

[RSchiers]

I am just glad they are working on it. I expected things to be a little rough. They are new to the pellet game. It's like rushing out to buy a new vehicle like when the Duramax came out. My brother inlaw ordered one but expected it to have issues being the first Diesel of it's type. Big let down was the issues were so sever it lived in the shop for the first year. I know it's hard to be patient but they are working on it.

 

[Bdobz]

I really think it is a software issue. I also suspect the fact that the Augur reverses the pellets on shutdown is a driving force in chewing up pellets into dust and clogging the auger, in turn losing the 600 degree ability. Just atheory from a guy that has replaced the controller twice, and the auger once and still can't hit 600

 

[RSchiers]

I really think it is a software issue. I also suspect the fact that the Augur reverses the pellets on shutdown is a driving force in chewing up pellets into dust and clogging the auger, in turn losing the 600 degree ability. Just atheory from a guy that has replaced the controller twice, and the auger once and still can't hit 600

For sure. Having and encapsulated augur on the reverse end grinds the pellets to dust. It needs a high temp plastic ramp/bushing to unload the pellets before the end of the augur.

 

[Smysmy2]

Just got off the phone with Weber. They claim that even though the auger and motor was replaced, the problem is not with the components, nor with the reverse motion of the auger during the shutdown. They claim it is not a dust problem. They told me that it was software. They also told me that the update would occur at the end of next week or early the week after (groan!!). I expressed my disappointment and said have a good day. It is not the fault of the person who answers the phone. I will just have to live with a grill that only gets to 500 if I am lucky and may need to go through the restart process if the fire goes out in the firebox. It seems like this is something that will happen to everyone's SmokeFire eventually. I hope that most of you don't run into this before they push the update.

 

[MENCHY954]

BTW - the figure guard is a good tool for removing pellets that spill along the sides of the hopper when filling.

What is the figure guard?

 

[CEd4jets]

What is the figure guard?

It's a little stainless part that is installed in the hole where the pellets feed into the auger. It seems to be there to prevent one from sticking their finger into the rotating auger. It may prevent the pellets from feeding freely so some have removed it.

 

[MENCHY954]

Ah you meant the finger guard - gotcha LOL

 

[CEd4jets]

Yes - sorry for the sloppy typing.

 

[GriLLMaRksRseXy]

Ah you meant the finger guard - gotcha LOL

LOL!! I think some of us should use a figure guard to protect us from over eating with all the cooking being done on our SmokeFire's (except for me..Seko's final destination carrier her in Tallahassee is a complete Joke. They have had my Grill since Friday and not even the company that hired them, Seko, can get in touch with them :-(